Child car seats may be of the type which are adapted for both forward and rearward facing use and in such seats there is a necessity for two restraining strap paths within the seat to ensure that the child car seat is correctly retained in the vehicle. One restraining strap path is used when the child car seat is in the rearward facing position and the other is used when the child car seat is in the forward facing position. The rearward facing position is generally used for younger babies with the seat on a more reclined position and the forward facing position is generally used for older babies with the seat on a more upright position.
The restraining strap used may be an existing seatbelt in a vehicle but in some vehicles these may not be present or adequate for the purpose of restraining the child car seat.
In an alternative to using a seatbelt for retaining the child car seat there has been proposed a connecting strap system using latches which engage with latch bars mounted into the seat either side of the child car seat position. Once again such a connecting strap must use different belt paths through the seat for rearward and forward facing use.
Separate connecting straps can be provided for each belt path with associated latches and length adjusting mechanisms on each strap but it is desirable that a single connecting strap be used for both forward and rearward facing strap paths. It is important and in some cases mandatory, however, that the connecting strap or straps cannot be removed entirely from the seat because this may encourage people to use the seat without any connecting strap.
It is the object of this invention therefore to provide a system and a method of mounting a strap by which a connecting strap can be used for either rearward or forward facing seats but not be removable from the seat.